When I set out eleven mornings ago, I said my plan was to “head west and see who got in the way.” I never could’ve predicted this.
Yesterday I had the extraordinary honor of speaking with Mr. Walter Breuning. A little about Walter: he lives in the Rainbow Retirement Home in Great Falls, Montana. He worked for the railroad company for over fifty years, he said, the same amount of time my grandfather was a doctor. He dresses in a suit and tie every morning for breakfast. Oh, and one other thing about Walter: he was born on September 21, 1896, making him 112 years old. Next month he’ll be 113. He is literally the oldest man on Earth.
I met Walter at about 9:30 in the morning. He came walking—yes, walking—around the corner and plopped down in his favorite chair. I pulled up a piano bench beside him.
“My grandfather and I were very close,” I told him. “He was a Navy fighter pilot in World War Two. I’m wondering—do you remember your grandfather?”
“Remember him? Sure. My grandfather was in the war too…the Civil War!”
We both laughed, but I knew Walter wasn’t kidding. Later, in my motel room, I calculated that Walter had lived through twenty U.S. Presidents, from Grover Cleveland to Barack Obama.
“I’m twenty seven,” I said, “and just starting to make my way in the world. What do you think the biggest difference is between now and when you were twenty seven?”
“It’s the money,” he said. “Everyone’s got money these days, and no one wants to work.” He scoffed at the idea of a “recession”, saying he’d lived through a real Depression.
He told me about the various twists and turns in his life, and I was astonished by the sharpness of his mind. I could’ve been speaking to someone sixty years younger.
Before I left, I told Walter about my project, and I gave him a card. “If you could give just one piece of advice,” I said, “What would you say?”
“Tell them to keep their minds busy,” he said. “And their bodies. Work as long as you can work. And do something for somebody else every once in a while.”
He added one last thing: “Oh, and keep the weight off.”
Thanks so much to Tina and everyone at The Rainbow for your enthusiasm about the project, and for introducing me to Walter. What an amazing man, an amazing experience. Can't wait to receive your cards. Thank you!
Read Part II
